RESUMO
Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer with limited therapeutic options. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells with strong anti-tumor activity and may offer a promising treatment strategy for GBM. We compared the anti-GBM activity of NK cells engineered to express interleukin (IL)-15 or IL-21. Using multiple in vivo models, IL-21 NK cells were superior to IL-15 NK cells both in terms of safety and long-term anti-tumor activity, with locoregionally administered IL-15 NK cells proving toxic and ineffective at tumor control. IL-21 NK cells displayed a unique chromatin accessibility signature, with CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBP), especially CEBPD, serving as key transcription factors regulating their enhanced function. Deletion of CEBPD resulted in loss of IL-21 NK cell potency while its overexpression increased NK cell long-term cytotoxicity and metabolic fitness. These results suggest that IL-21, through C/EBP transcription factors, drives epigenetic reprogramming of NK cells, enhancing their anti-tumor efficacy against GBM.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Encefálicas , Proteína delta de Ligação ao Facilitador CCAAT , Glioblastoma , Interleucinas , Células Matadoras Naturais , Células Matadoras Naturais/imunologia , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Glioblastoma/imunologia , Glioblastoma/genética , Glioblastoma/patologia , Glioblastoma/terapia , Interleucinas/genética , Interleucinas/metabolismo , Interleucinas/imunologia , Humanos , Animais , Camundongos , Proteína delta de Ligação ao Facilitador CCAAT/metabolismo , Proteína delta de Ligação ao Facilitador CCAAT/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/imunologia , Neoplasias Encefálicas/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patologia , Neoplasias Encefálicas/terapia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Interleucina-15/genética , Interleucina-15/metabolismo , Interleucina-15/imunologia , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive brain cancer, recurs because glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are resistant to all standard therapies. We showed that GSCs, but not normal astrocytes, are sensitive to lysis by healthy allogeneic natural killer (NK) cells in vitro. Mass cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing of primary tumor samples revealed that GBM tumor-infiltrating NK cells acquired an altered phenotype associated with impaired lytic function relative to matched peripheral blood NK cells from patients with GBM or healthy donors. We attributed this immune evasion tactic to direct cell-to-cell contact between GSCs and NK cells via αv integrin-mediated TGF-ß activation. Treatment of GSC-engrafted mice with allogeneic NK cells in combination with inhibitors of integrin or TGF-ß signaling or with TGFBR2 gene-edited allogeneic NK cells prevented GSC-induced NK cell dysfunction and tumor growth. These findings reveal an important mechanism of NK cell immune evasion by GSCs and suggest the αv integrin/TGF-ß axis as a potentially useful therapeutic target in GBM.